National Lawyers Guild committees are the foundation of our programmatic work. Our volunteer members work nationally to realize the mission of the Guild in areas such as immigration, labor, international, and constitutional law. The work of our committees, task forces, and projects defines the Guild as a coalition for social change. These groups demonstrate that not only are we passionate in our convictions, but we are also resolute in our actions.
Below is the information for our most active committees, projects and task forces. Please contact the committee chairs for more specific information on how to get involved. We look forward to working with you.
The Amicus Committee is responsible for drafting amicus curiae and submitting them on behalf of the NLG. There is no cost to join.
Guidelines for NLG Amicus Curiae Briefs
NLG Amicus Curiae Submission Form
For more information, email amicus@nlg.org.
The Animal Rights Activism Committee works to end oppression and exploitation of non-human animals. The committee engages Guild members to advocate for changes in the law to recognize the rights of non-human animals, and to provide legal support and resources to animal rights activists. It works in coalition with other groups to fight--in the courts and in the streets--to liberate non-human animals. Visit our facebook page: facebook.com/nlgarcommittee or email us at animalrights@nlg.org.
The Anti-Racism Committee (ARC) strives to make the Guild into an effective anti-racist organization, holding it to the principles on which it was founded. The cost of joining the Anti-Racism Committee is $12, which can be paid alongside your membership dues. Are you doing anti-racism work in your local or student chapter? Looking for assistance, resources, or ideas? Email the ARC Co-Chairs at antiracism@nlg.org. We would be happy to email with you or set up a call to discuss. We would also encourage you to visit the page of The United People of Color Caucus of the NLG here.
White supremacy and racism are serious problems in our society that affect us all. Racism affects how we do our work, and how we interact with each other, potential allies, and power structures. ARC desires to be a resource for NLG chapters, committees, and projects to engage in analysis and action on anti-racism.
The following documents may be used as tools to facilitate conversations in your NLG chapter, committee, or project. The ARC can make available ARC committee members to help guide and facilitate such conversations, remotely, or in person at a meeting.
Anti-Racism Resourcess
The Anti-Sexism Committee works to advance the Guild’s work in the movement for women’s liberation. Projects include: planning panels and workshops at Guild events, organizing projects locally and nationally, and writing articles for Guild Notes to educate Guild members about the contributions of women to the organization and its history. For more information, email antisexism@nlg.org.
The work of the Committee on Democratic Communications focuses on the right of all peoples to a democratic world wide system of media and communications based upon the principle of cultural and informational self-determination. The cost of membership in this committee is $35 for members, and $15 for students.
The DRC encourages Guild members to become more aware of the issues confronting people with disabilities, and to incorporate representation of people with disabilities into their law practice. The cost of joining the Disability Rights Committee is $15. For more information, email disabilityrights@nlg.org.
The Drug Policy Committee (DPC) of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) opposes the harms of America's War on Drugs, and advocates for policies that reduce those harms. We are lawyers, law students, and legal workers. We seek to educate ourselves and the public about drug policy issues and policy alternatives.
Read our most recent publication, "High Crimes: Strategies to Further Marijuana Legalization Initiatives."
Sign up for the committee using our Google form.
Co - Chairs
Our drug policy reform tactics include:
We're members/supporters/leaders of these fine groups:
The EJC is dedicated to providing assistance to impoverished communities and communities of color, which are exposed to the disproportionate impacts of environmental hazards. This committee is free to join. For more information, email environmentaljustice@nlg.org.
The Housing Committee works to advance the principle that housing is a human right. The committee supports the efforts of communities advocating for and creating access to safe, affordable, and adequate housing for all people. The committee aims to provide legal support to grassroots movements organizing around self-determination, tenants' rights, foreclosure resistance, squatting/homesteading, homelessness rights, property redistribution, and other housing and land use issues. For more information, email housing@nlg.org.
The NLG International Committee (IC) supports legal work around the world "to the end that human rights shall be regarded as more sacred than property interests." As lawyers, law students, and legal activists, we seek to change U.S. foreign policy that threatens, rather than engages, or is based on a model of domination rather than respect. The Guild provides assistance and solidarity to movements in the United States and abroad that work for social justice in this increasingly interconnected world.
The NLG IC plays an active role in international conferences, delegations and on-going projects that examine and seek to remedy conditions caused by illegal U.S. or corporate pracitices. By bringing an alternative perspective to multinational institutions, schools, community centers and congressional hearings, the IC and its members actively educate, litigate, and truth-seek toward the end of social justice.
This committee has done work in Cuba, the Middle East, Korea, Haiti, and several other countries. Through participating in these projects members can build their skills and network. The cost of joining the International Committee is $25.
*NOTE: The International Committee has many subcommittees that focus on specific locations. There are also subcommittees for various human rights issues. For a complete list of their Subcommittees and additional contacts, please visit the International Committee website at nlginternational.org, and follow them at facebook.com/NLGIC.
Get involved with us today and be part of building a more peaceful and just world!
The L&EC serves as a liaison between the Guild and various organized labor and employment legal groups. The cost of joining is $35. Students can join for $15. For more information visit the L&EC website at nlg-laboremploy-comm.org.
The Legal Worker Caucus represents the needs, views, and concerns of legal worker members in the NLG.
The Mass Defense Committee (MDC) is a network of lawyers, legal workers, and law students providing legal support for political activists, protesters and movements for social change. For more information on NLG mass defense work, visit our MDC web page.
The Mass Incarceration Committee exists in recognition that the use of incarceration in the United States has reached epidemic proportions and is the foremost civil rights, racial justice, and human rights concern of our times. The Committee's mission is to challenge the prison industrial complex in all its forms and advocate for prison abolition and alternatives to incarceration. For more information and to join the committee, contact Nora Carroll at carroll.nora@gmail.com.
The Guild opposes aggressive and interventionist military policies, and works to provide support for those in and out of the military who challenge such policies. The MLTF supports efforts to counter the military’s influence. The cost of joining this committee is $25. For more information visit the MLTF website.
The National Immigration Project is a network of immigration lawyers, law students, and legal workers who work to end unlawful immigration practices, to recognize the contributions of immigrants in this country, to promote fair immigration practices, and to expand the civil and human rights of all immigrants regardless of their status in this country. For more information, please visit the National Immigration Project website.
NPAP is a non-profit organization of plaintiff’s lawyers, law students and legal workers, which is dedicated to ending police abuse of authority through legal action, public education and support for grassroots and victims’ organizations involving police misconduct. Separate membership is required for NPAP.
The Next Generation Committee (Next Gen) welcomes progressive law students, recent graduates, legal workers, young lawyers and jailhouse lawyers, and law school candidates interested in radical lawyering and social change. Next Gen sponsors social events, offers guidance and support to new members, and works to support and sustain the “next generation” of the Guild. The National Next Gen Committee helps develop and sustain local Next Gen chapters and promotes new leadership within the Guild. Email the NextGen Co-chairs at nextgen@nlg.org
The Prison Law Project sends the Jailhouse Lawyer’s Handbook to people in prison who request it. Volunteers are always welcome to come to the National Office for weekly mailings. To get involved, contact the PLP by visiting idealist.org.
The Queer Caucus provides a space for queer members to come together to discuss and strategize about work and their role within the NLG.
queercaucus@nlg.org
TUPOCC is an alliance of law students, legal workers, attorneys and other people of color started at the 2004 convention in Birmingham, Alabama. TUPOCC is an avenue through which the concerns of people of color in the NLG can be represented.
Dues: $15-30, sliding scale.